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Slavoj ?i?ek and Srecko Horvat combine their critical clout to emphasize the dangers of ignoring Europe's growing wealth gap and the parallel rise in right-wing nationalism, which is directly tied to the fallout from the ongoing financial crisis and its prescription of imposed austerity. To general observers, the European Union's economic woes appear to be its greatest problem, but the real peril is an ongoing ideological-political crisis that threatens an era of instability and reactionary brutality.

The fall of communism in 1989 seemed to end the leftist program of universal emancipation. However, nearly a quarter of a century later, the European Union has failed to produce any coherent vision that can mobilize people to action. Until recently, the only ideology receptive to European workers has been the nationalist call to "defend" against immigrant integration. Today, Europe is focused on regulating the development of capitalism and promoting a reactionary conception of its cultural heritage. Yet staying these courses, ?i?ek and Horvat show, only strips Europe of its power and stifles its political ingenuity. The best hope is for Europe to revive and defend its legacy of universal egalitarianism, which benefits all parties by preserving the promise of equal representation.

About The Author

Slavoj ?i?ek is a professor at the Institute for Sociology, University of Ljubljana, and at the European Graduate School. Among his most recent books are Demanding the Impossible, The Year of Dreaming Dangerously, and The Sublime Object of Ideology. He is a coeditor of Hegel and the Infinite: Religion, Politics, and Dialectic and a co...

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Title:What Does Europe Want?: The Union and Its DiscontentsFormat:PaperbackDimensions:240 pagesPublished:December 23, 2014Publisher:Columbia University PressLanguage:English

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Read the chapter, "Breaking Our Eggs Without the Omlette, From Cyprus to Greece, by Slavoj ?i?ek:

Table of Contents

Foreword: The Destruction of Greece as a Model for All of Europe: Is this the Future that Europe Deserves?, by Alexis TsiprasPreface: What Does the U.S. Want, or What to Do After Occupy?, by Srecko Horvat1. Breaking Our Eggs without the Omelette, from Cyprus to Greece, by Slavoj ?i?ek2. Danke Deutschland!, by Srecko Horvat3. When the Blind Are Leading the Blind, Democracy Is the Victim, by Slavoj ?i?ek4. Why the EU Needs Croatia More than Croatia Needs the EU, by Srecko Horvat5. What Does Europe Want?, by Slavoj ?i?ek6. Are the Nazis Living on the Moon?, by Srecko Horvat7. The Return of the Christian-conservative Revolution, by Slavoj ?i?ek8. In the Land of Blood and Money: Angelina Jolie and the Balkans, by Srecko Horvat9. The Turkish March, by Slavoj ?i?ek10. War and Peace in Europe: 'Bei den Sorglosen', by Srecko Horvat11. Save Us from the Saviours: Europe and the Greeks, by Slavoj ?i?ek12. 'I'm Not Racist, but . . . the Blacks are Coming!', by Srecko Horvat13. Shoplifters of the World Unite, by Slavoj ?i?ek14. Do Markets Have Feelings?, by Srecko Horvat15. The Courage to Cancel the Debt, by Slavoj ?i?ek16. The Easiest Way to the Gulag Is to Joke About the Gulag, by Srecko Horvat17. We Need a Margaret Thatcher of the Left, by Slavoj ?i?ek18. Europe Will Be Either Democratic and Social or It Will No Longer Exist (interview by Srecko Horvat), by Alexis Tsipras19. The Role of the European Left (debate), by Slavoj ?i?ek and Alexis TsiprasAfterword: Europe Is Dead, Long Live Europe!, by Srecko HorvatNotes

Editorial Reviews

Full of relevance and merit...?i?ek and Horvat provide a deeply engaging and insightful polemic on how Europe went wrong - and how it can recover.